Tara McNeill (pronounced ''TAR-a'') is an Irish violinist, harpist, and soprano singer from Antrim, Northern Ireland.

Early life and career

McNeill comes from a family that is musically inclined. All her siblings play musical instruments. At St. Joseph's Primary School in Antrim, McNeill showed potential as a musician. McNeill took to singing at a young age. By age 7, she was learning to play piano and by age 8, she was playing the violin. McNeill was part of the junior and senior Ulster /

North Eastern Education and Library Board Education in Northern Ireland differs from education systems elsewhere in the United Kingdom (although it is relatively similar to Wales), but is similar to the Republic of Ireland in sharing in the development of the ''national school'' syste ...

(NEELB) Youth Orchestra, performing with them for 7 years and leading the senior orchestra at the age of 17. She was selected as Head Girl in St. Louis Grammar School, Ballymena in 2008–2009. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in Music Teaching and Performance, with a focus on violin, from the

Royal Irish Academy of Music The Royal Irish Academy of Music (RIAM) in Dublin, Ireland, is one of Europe's oldest music conservatoires, specialising in classical music and the Irish harp. It is located in a Georgian building on Westland Row in Dublin. An institution whic ...

. There, she studied under Michael D’Arcy. She graduated with First class honours in June 2009 with the highest marks in her year. McNeill performs on a Roger Hansell violin.

Musical career

McNeill toured with the Irish choral ensemble

Anúna Anúna (stylized in all caps) is a vocal ensemble formed in Ireland in 1987 by Irish composer Michael McGlynn under the name An Uaithne. Taking the current name in 1991,Allmusic Biography/ref> the group has recorded 18 albums and achieved a ...

as both a solo violinist and as a singer from 2011 to 2016. She also played violin on the Anúna album ''Illumination'' released in 2012. In April 2013, McNeill performed the Irish premiere of Finzi's Violin Concerto in the National Concert Hall, Dublin, Ireland. In 2014, McNeill was a lead performer in the show ''Ireland Calling'' as a violinist, harpist, and singer. The show appeared in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

, Denmark and Dublin, Ireland in 2014.

Celtic Woman

In August 2015, McNeill played the harp as part of the orchestra in Celtic Woman: Destiny, a DVD and PBS TV special filmed in the Round Room at the Masion House, in Dublin, Ireland. On 7 August 2016, McNeill was announced as the newest principal member of the all-female Irish musical ensemble Celtic Woman. McNeill took over for founding and long-time Celtic Woman violinist

Mairead Nesbitt Mairead, Máiréad or Mairéad, is a feminine name and the Irish variation of the given name Margaret, which is believed to mean "pearl". Another spelling variation is Maighread, which is the dominant Scottish Gaelic spelling of the name. It may ...

, who took leave from the group to pursue her own projects. McNeill joined Mairead Carlin as the only two principal performers of Celtic Woman to come from Northern Ireland. On 15 August 2016, McNeill began recording in the studio for Celtic Woman. McNeill's first live concert with Celtic Woman was on 16 September 2016, in Johannesburg, South Africa. Her first album as an official member of Celtic Woman was Celtic Woman: Voices of Angels.

Other career highlights

McNeill has toured in many countries and has performed with well-known artists such as Barry Douglas, Bono,

Il Divo Il Divo (; ) are a multi-national classical crossover vocal group. The male quartet, which originated in the United Kingdom in December 2003, consists of tenors Urs Bühler, David Miller, and Sébastien Izambard. It also included bariton ...

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, and

Damien Rice Damien George Rice (born 7 December 1973) is an Irish singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He began his career as a member of the 1990s rock group Juniper, who were signed to Polygram Records in 1997. The band enjoyed moderate success ...

. She has performed at prestigious venues, including Carnegie Hall, the Oriental Arts Center, and the National Centre for the Performing Arts. Prior to joining Celtic Woman, McNeill taught violin in Mount Anville Junior School, Dublin, teaching about 50 students.

Personal life

McNeill married Alexander "Alex" Bernstein in January 2018.

Discography

; With Celtic Woman *'' Celtic Woman: Voices of Angels'' (2016) *'' Celtic Woman: The Best of Christmas'' (2017) *'' Celtic Woman: Homecoming Live from Ireland'' (2018) *'' Celtic Woman: Ancient Land'' (2018)

Awards

* Leo Gibney Award for Chamber Music (RIAM) * 2009: Ballymena Music Festival's prestigious Young Instrumentalist Award * 2010: Holywood Music Festival's Sinfonietta Cup * 2010: Holywood Music Festival's d’Arcy Cup and Award * 2010: Holywood Music Festival's Ulster Bank Festival Gala Cup * 2012: Inaugural Flax Trust Classics £5000 bursary * 2012: George & Angela Moore Flax Trust Classics Audience Award * 2016: Grammy Award nominee for Best World Music album at the 59th

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...

s (for

Destiny Destiny, sometimes referred to as fate (from Latin ''fatum'' "decree, prediction, destiny, fate"), is a predetermined course of events. It may be conceived as a predetermined future, whether in general or of an individual. Fate Although often ...

, with Celtic Woman)

References

External links

TaraMcNeill.com
– Official website {{DEFAULTSORT:McNeill, Tara Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Celtic Woman members Irish violinists Irish harpists People from Antrim, County Antrim 21st-century violinists Musicians from County Antrim 21st-century women singers from Northern Ireland